


A million people in the place and there you are

by DreamDrop



Series: THIRDS [1]
Category: Captive Prince - C. S. Pacat
Genre: Alternate Universe - Shapeshifters, Auguste is a little shit, Charlie Cochet, Damen gets a new partner, Damen is so screwed, Everything Will Be Explained, First Meetings, Laurent loves to tease, M/M, Nikandros needs a break, Now to the story tags, Shapeshifting, THIRDS Series, UST, can be read without knowing the series, characters do not make an appearance, only the universe is used, thank you so much!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-06
Updated: 2020-06-08
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:21:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24571477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DreamDrop/pseuds/DreamDrop
Summary: Damen was not happy.Well, generally speaking, he was a very happy person and he knew and appreciated that he was privileged member of society. Today, however, he was decidedly not happy.
Relationships: Auguste & Laurent (Captive Prince), Auguste/Nikandros (Captive Prince), Damen/Laurent (Captive Prince)
Series: THIRDS [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1777957
Comments: 30
Kudos: 108





	1. Then I saw you it was stupid I got stupefied

**Author's Note:**

> This story plays in the THIRDS universe. For those who don't know it, here is a short explanation that is quoted from the original work from Charlie Cochet. IMPORTANT: You don't need to read THIRDS to read this story but if you like it, maybe take a look.
> 
> "THIRDS exists to uphold the law for Humans and Therians without prejudice.
> 
> During the Vietnam War, biological warfare spread the Melanoe virus, infecting millions worldwide and changing the course of human history forever. The vaccine, Eppione.8, created using strains from animals immune to the virus, activated a dormant mutation within the virus that altered human DNA and gave birth to a new species: Therians.
> 
> In an attempt to restore social order, the US government put new regulations and laws into place, along with a Therian branch of government. In 1990, Human and Therian legislators launched the Therian Human Intelligence, Recon, Defense Squadron aka the THIRDS, an elite, military-funded agency comprised of an equal number of Human and Therian agents."
> 
> More information under "https://charliecochet.com/series/thirds". 
> 
> Also: The title is from the song "Undressed" from Kim Cesarion.

Damen was not happy. 

Well, generally speaking, he was a very happy person and he knew and appreciated that he was a privileged member of society. Today, however, he was decidedly not happy. 

Auguste walked into his office with a grin. His friend and fellow team leader didn't seem to notice his bad mood. "Today's the day." He even sounded so fucking cheerful. 

Damen scowled. "Yes, today is the day when I get two rookies to replace my brother and ex-fiancée and partner on my team because they couldn't keep it in their pants and almost got me killed."

Auguste sobered up immediately. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Damen sighed. He didn't want to be the asshole here. He knew he should look forward to it. Normally, he would have, but the circumstances were so fucked up that he didn't even want to get out of bed this morning. 

"No. But I should. Well, at least I should try to not frighten my partner away on his or her first day with the THIRDS."

Auguste laughed. "I think that won't be a problem." 

Damen stared at him. "Do you know something I don't?"

"Lots and lots. But that's not what I am referring to. Damen, you refused to look at their file. You don't even know if they have prior experience in the field." Auguste arched an eyebrow and crossed his arms before his chest. 

Damen snorted. "As long as they aren't too occupied to screw my brother to have my back, they can only be an improvement."  
Auguste winced. 

Yes, this particular story was ugly, really ugly. Damen still had a hard time wrapping his head around the whole thing. He would never have thought that Jokaste would abandon him on the field. 

He always thought they had each other's back. But that was before he found out that she cheated on him with his brother for years. 

Kastor was never the caring big brother type of guy, but Damen never suspected that his brother would seriously want Damen to die.

He really had to rethink his own judgement. Two of the most important people in his life tricked him and it almost cost him his life. 

He was back on duty for two months and this was the first week back in training. He still felt the pain in his back and leg, but he was back on his feet.

"As you seem to know something about them, you could just tell me while I go get my coffee. I need to be in Sparta in half an hour or Nik will come and drag my sorry ass there." Damen stood, suppressed a wince and followed Auguste out. 

"It's a 'he'. And his name is Laurent. He is 25 years old. He was on top of his class, a rare genius, even Lieutenant Vallis was impressed by him."

Damen's eyebrows shot up. "My father was impressed by someone?"

"He was. Apparently, he even visited the class once." Auguste still grinned. 

Then he continued, "Family background: The father, a tiger therian, is a big shot politician for the equal rights movement. The mother, human, is a successful lawyer and teaches law school at Marlas university. She is the leading expert on equality laws for humans and therians. He has an older brother, tiger therian."

Damen couldn't quite believe it. Did his father want to make sure his son had the best partner available so that he wouldn't end up in a hospital again, closer to death than life?  
"Interesting, and the other new person?"

"Right. Isander's new partner. Her name is Vannes, she is a leopard therian, 29 years old, same class as Laurent. She was with the military. A sniper, one of the best. Her sister works for Recon. Their parents died in a car accident; they were taken in by their aunt." 

Damen nodded, lost in thought. "So, I get a genius and a sniper?"

Auguste laughed. "Yes." 

They reached the canteen and Damen got his coffee. He poured in every single sugary addition they had and then stirred it. 

Auguste raised an eyebrow. "I don't even have words."

"Then shut up and let me enjoy my coffee," Damen grunted and Auguste laughed. He drank his coffee black. 

The speaker system started up and they could hear Lieutenant Vallis’ voice, "All agents for unit Alpha get into the Arena." 

The Arena was the biggest room in the whole building. Only used for special occasions like special award ceremonies, the graduating of the rookies and so on. 

Damen and Auguste looked at each other in question but they both made their way to the elevators. When they stepped out Nikandros hurried towards them. 

Damen once again witnessed how Auguste‘s eyes lit up when he saw the other man. He really didn‘t understand why they didn‘t just fuck already. Yes, Auguste might prefer woman and Nikandros was most certainly not female but that shouldn‘t keep them from fucking when they looked at each other like that. 

The lion therian looked unimpressed by the sudden summoning and said: "What the fuck is happening here? Shouldn't we go get our rookies?"

Damen laughed. "You sound as if you get them in a grocery store." 

Nikandros rolled his eyes at his team leader and best friend. "You know just as well as I do that this is not normal procedure. Shouldn't the lieutenant try to get back to normality as soon as possible?"

Auguste shrugged. "Maybe he wants to show us something important that couldn't wait. Maybe we have a new case that needs the whole Unit. You heard what happened to Destructive Delta in the last years. Maybe we are next."

Damen shuddered, he didn't even want to think about it. "Please don't say something like that. I don't want my team to suffer the same as they did." 

Nikandros scoffed. "We both know that you could even surpass them, Damianos. I mean, just look at what happened in the last six months. That was a fuck up of epic proportions. I thought the shitstorm would never die down again."

"You could at least meet your parents without the cluster fuck following you home," Damen growled. 

Nikandros patted his shoulder. "Now, now, my fearless team leader. You should sit down, everybody is starring." 

Damen looked up and truthfully, everybody stared at him with curiosity and pity in their eyes. Most defense agents already saw him after he was back on duty but for recon and intel it was the first time since before the incident. 

He smiled at them and sat down in the front row besides Nikandros. Auguste sat right behind them and started a conversation with Nik. 

Pallas and Nicaise came next. The young human looked Damen straight in the eye and said: "I really hope this was the last time you intended on almost dying by the hands of your brother and lover. It's really annoying how everybody stares at us." He sounded angry and Damen, who knew Nicaise since he started with sixteen on the job, smiled at him. "I promise. I will try to avoid that from now on."

Lazar came up to them and slapped his partner's shoulder. The smaller frame almost stumbled forward, as the tiger therian clearly didn't hold back his strength. 

"You asshole. I told you to stop doing that."  
Nicaise almost spit poison and Damen hurried to get his team under control. "You two, sit down. Now."

Lazar grinned, hopped over the table and sat beside Nikandros, Pallas hurried to sit between Lazar and his partner, before Nicaise could start yelling or Lazar laughing. 

Damen really didn't understand how the two of them could be so good partners but try to kill each other every time they weren't on the field. But he also knew they would go to hell and back for each other. For goodness sake, they already did.

It were Lazar and Nicaise who found him, mauled half to death and surrounded by his brother and five other large felid therians in their feral form. They sounded the alarm and took the therians down, one after the other. 

They didn't hesitate to knock Kastor out with enough tranqs to send the lion therian sleeping for almost a day. 

Lykaios and Kashel made their way over to them. Both smiled at Damen and kissed his cheek.  
"Good to have you back from your desk. We already thought you would want to stay there and never come back to kicking our asses while training."

"Never. I love you too much." Damen grinned. His day improved with every team member he met. 

Nikandros took hold of his partner's wrist. "Lykaios, remember me to kick Damianos' ass for getting himself almost killed in the next training."

The female human laughed and stroked over his hair that was gathered in a fashionable bun. "Sure. I will remember you." 

Nikandros nodded, while Kashel popped down beside Nicaise, who started showing her something on his phone. Now only Isander was missing, and the two rookies they would get today. 

The young man stepped up to his side and smiled shyly.  
"Hello man, how are you? Are you nervous because of your new partner?"

Isander shrugged. "A bit. I heard she was one of the best snipers in her unit. A whole lot of experience. I seriously don't know if I can keep up with her, but I will try my best." 

Damen nodded. "You are doing a great job, Isander. She can be glad to have you as her partner."

"Move it. You boys can fawn over your new partners later." The gruff voice of their sergeant had Damen looking up. Halvik stood beside him and raised an eyebrow. 

He sighed. "Will my back work as an excuse?"

"Yes, but it won't keep you from moving your ass over." She didn't even blink. 

He looked at the rest of his team. "Move over." 

They groaned, Nicaise bitched, but they all complied and the seat directly by the aisle was free for Halvik to sit down. 

Isander had hurried over and sat down beside Lykaios, who immediately hugged him close to her chest. She mothered over him and Damen was glad to see that he bloomed under her care. 

The young man hadn't had an easy time with his partner turning traitor, knocking him out and almost killing his team leader. 

Halvik leaned in closer. "You already read his file?"

"No. Auguste, however, did." Damen looked over his shoulder at his fellow team leader, who only grinned. 

"Well, I knew you wouldn't, someone had to have some information for you." 

Halvik looked between them and then barked out a laugh. "You didn't tell him?"

"No. If he is too lazy to read the file of the person having his back out there, then that is not my problem." Auguste had an evil smile on his lips. It was almost scary, especially since Halvik had a similar glint in her eyes. 

Damen cleared his throat. "What did I miss?"

Halvik clapped him on his shoulder, consciously avoiding his back. "You will see soon enough." She snickered but then Theomedes stepped onto the podium.

"Hello Unit Alpha. You all want to know why we are here today. I wanted you all here to introduce the new recruits to Unit Alpha. I chose this setting because we have more new recruits than ever before, four of them new defense agents." He paused theatrically. 

"You know what happened to team Ambush Alpha, I want to address the changes and communicate the incident transparently. As you all know, my family has to struggle with what happened and I hope, you can respect the fact that it is hard for me to talk about it, but I will, today."

Damen sucked in a sharp breath. He would have appreciated, his father telling him what he intended to do. Gods, it was also his life and his drama, it concerned him and his fucked-up life, how dare his father to just talk, as if Damen wasn't sitting right there. 

He gritted his teeth and breathed through his nose. Halvik looked him over. "You didn't know."

"No. I didn't."

"Fuck. If you want to go, Vallis, that is fine."

"No. I need to be here. I can't let this incident dictate my life." Damen sat there, while his father spread out the details of his life for the past year, as if it was just another case. 

The other agents listened and, in the end, when the questions could be asked, nobody did. 

One of the team leaders, Torveld, stood up. "I think I speak for the whole of Unit Alpha, when I say that we all are sorry for the loss that struck Ambush Alpha. We are here for you, Damianos, and for your team. Lieutenant, thank you for trusting us with this."

Damen nodded and Torveld sat again to murmurs of acknowledgement and nods. At least his fellow agents had their back and didn't judge them for what happened. The press did their best to bring them to their knees, but they were nothing if not stubborn.

"Now, to something less grave. I would like to present you the new recruits for Unit Alpha. We have three new intel, two new reckon and four new defense agents."

Theomedes read the names, the recruits stepped on the platform and shook his hand before stepping to the side. 

Damen felt his nerves acting up the closer they came to the new defense agents. He crossed his arms on his chest to keep from fidgeting. It was just a new partner. He couldn't be worse than the last partner he had.

First up was the new agent for Torveld's team, one of his team members had switched over to intel after sustaining a serious injury. Then came the new agent for team Omega Destructive. One of their own was killed and finally the team was cleared to get a replacement. It would not be easy on them.

And finally, Theomedes called the new recruits for his own team. "Vannes du Pond. Defense agent for Ambush Alpha." 

A tall, brown haired, fair-skinned woman stepped up on the platform. She was attractive, had sharp aristocratic features and held herself like a person who weathered any storm that came their way. The black tattoo on her neck identified her as leopard therian. 

Damen already liked her but she wouldn't be his partner.  
No, his partner would be: "Laurent Leblanc." 

Damen's jaw dropped, he turned in his seat and stared at Auguste who winked at him. Then his gaze snapped back to the platform, where the most beautiful man he ever laid eyes on shook hands with his father. 

He was tall for a human, pale in the black THIRDS uniform. His golden hair was artfully tousled, his cheekbones sharp, his body strong. Gods, Damen was in trouble. He felt as if he was struck by lightning. 

Nikandros cursed and rammed his elbow in Damen's side. He startled out of his stupor and met Nikandros' gaze.

"Really? Really Damianos?" Oh no, Nikandros called him by his full name. That couldn't be good. "Do I really have to remind you what happened the last time you fucked your beautiful, blond partner? I swear, if I have to castrate you to save your life, I will do it."

Theomedes threw them a sharp look and they shut up, but Damen knew this wasn't over. He honestly didn't want to argue with Nikandros. But he could keep it in his pants,- if he wanted,- probably. It depended.

He heard Auguste whisper: "If you are going to fuck my brother, you better keep in mind that I can take you on. So, you better be serious." Damen almost chocked on his own spit and stared at the other man with wide eyes.

"Damen, concentrate. Your father doesn‘t look pleased." Auguste again looked at Theomedes, who rambled on about honor and duty. 

It was funny, really. One of his best friends' little brother would be his partner. 

Auguste rarely talked about his family. None of them did. The people not part of the THIRDS weren't discussed and now there stood this wet dream of a man. 

Laurent looked at him in that exact moment and Damen felt his felid half stir its' head. A slow smirk stole itself on full pink lips. 

He was so screwed.


	2. You're the only focus in my lens

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello you guys. I am so happy you liked the first chapter. Here is the second one.  
> You motivated me so much that I had to finish it today. Lol. I hope you like it and would love to hear from you.
> 
> In this chapter you get a bit more information about PSTC and Damen's team. Looking forward to read about your thoughts.

Laurent was bored. 

In fact he was so fucking bored he almost went crazy. 

They had their first day at HQ and were treated as if they were on their first day in kindergarten. It was a miracle that nobody had instructed him how to hold his gun, yet. He only waited for it.

Vannes beside him, looked as bored as he felt. At least he had the good grace to not appear bored. She, however, had no such qualms. Her head slumped against her chest while she struggled to keep her eyes open. 

They sat in a room with seven other rookies while an instructor rambled on about procedures. As if they hadn‘t covered all of that already a thousand times.  
What was their training even worth if they seriously thought that they needed to explain such a basic concept like PSTC again?

„You all should know that Post Shift Trauma Care is a very intimate process. Those of you who are therians need to keep in mind that your partner doesn‘t know your preferences yet. Tell them what you like and what you don‘t. They are all experienced agents and will respect you and your needs."

"After the shift you are vulnerable and need to trust your partner to take care of you. If you can‘t do that you won‘t be able to work for the thirds. For this purpose, you have to take part in a bonding class together with your partner. That is a one day session where you will explore your relationship.“

Laurent almost dozed off. Not because he wasn‘t interested in his partner‘s wellbeing or PSTC in general. But this was such basic knowledge to him, he could recite the causes, the effects and the measures that need to be taken in his sleep. 

PSTC was needed because the metabolism of therians worked a lot different than the one of humans. They burned through calories at an incredible speed, even worse while they shifted. 

Whenever they shifted back to their human form, they would be weak, starved and dehydrated. Some would experience headaches, muscle weakness or numbness in some limbs. 

Besides that, they were completely naked and, depending on the severity of the effects from the shift, they needed help to dress again.

The shift itself was extremely painful as the whole body mass shifted, their bones rearranged and claws and fur grew. 

He understood what it meant for a therian to let someone offer post shift trauma care. Most of the time only family, romantic partners or very close friends were regularly performing PSTC. Emergencies the only exception. 

With the THIRDS this procedure needed to be broken. It was one of the most important parts a human partner had to fulfill. They needed to provide PSTC and make sure their therian partner didn‘t kiss the floor as soon as they stood. 

And Laurent took his responsibility very seriously. He knew everything about PSTC and how individual the perfect PSTC was for most therians. Obviously, there were some common do‘s and don‘t‘s but it was different from therian to therian what they needed to make them functional the fastest. 

Aleron and Hennike had sat their sons down and talked to them at length about PSTC. Auguste and Laurent had perfected Auguste‘s PSTC and Jord, Auguste’s human partner at the THIRDS, had contacted Laurent on more than one occasion if he needed help. 

That was the reason Laurent knew Jord since he started at the THIRDS. He looked forward to work at the same place as his brother and Jord, who turned out to be a rather loyal and good friend to both of the Leblanc brothers. 

He had asked Auguste about his new team and his brother had eagerly spilled the beans It almost appeared as if Auguste only waited for an opportunity to talk to his brother about the other agents. 

No wonder. Auguste was an extrovert through and through. He was talk-active, loved other people and was passionate about a lot of things. His job being one of them. He talked about the whole of Ambush Alpha, as if they were his closest friends.

This impression wasn't far from the truth, Laurent had realized the longer his brother had talked. Auguste, team leader to Beta Fire, was most often called out together with Ambush Alpha. Especially a so called Nikandros, short Nik, had a close relationship with Auguste. 

Laurent only raised an eyebrow at his brother, who seriously blushed. That was more than enough for the younger Leblanc brother. He was really looking forward to getting to know Nikandros.

Now, however, he sat in the room and had more than enough time to recapitulate everything he knew about his new team. Vannes and he would join them because Kastor Vallis had tried to kill his own brother and team leader Damianos Vallis during a mission. It was, apparently, out of jealousy. 

Jokaste, Damianos' ex-partner and -fiancée, hadn't warned her team leader about the betrayal and just stood on the sideline while his brother tried to murder him. Current situation, Kastor was in prison, because the evidence against him was crushing.

Jokaste, on the other hand, was just fired. Damianos had explicitly refrained from pressing charges and, as she wasn't part of the attempt itself and claimed to be frightened, thus the THIRDS respected his wish. 

The current team members however seemed to be tough as hell and loyal to the bone. Laurent knew all their names, had a rough description at hand and could read between the lines about what Auguste deliberately omitted. 

Isander Delis, human, 28 years old, ex-partner to Kastor and medic of the team. Dark skinned, black curls and beautiful, was everything Auguste had told him. However, Laurent also knew that the young man was timid, unsure of his own worth and had suffered under the harsh treatment of his former partner. 

Auguste had looked ready for murder when he talked about Kastor and that was surprising enough. Auguste loved everybody and everyone loved Auguste. Kastor Vallis seemed to be the exception to the rule.

Nicaise Gerou, human, 24 years old, partner to Lazar and driver of the team. He was fair skinned, had light brown curls, blue eyes and was, apparently, one of the most beautiful agents in the whole unit. Everybody tried to get him into bed until he opened his mouth. Auguste had almost laughed his ass of, when he talked about Nicaise's poison spitting. 

Lazar Miele, tiger therian, 32 years old, partner to Nicaise and explosives expert. Dark brown hair, tanned skin, brown eyes, lean figure for a tiger therian and hilarious. At least according to Auguste. Auguste told Laurent that Lazar was the born comedian and only ever shut up if he had to disarm a bomb, and even then, only barely. 

Pallas Sallas, tiger therian, 29 years old, partner to Kashel and close quarter combat expert. Dark skin, black curls and square features. He was everything a person imagined when they heard: Tiger therian. He was broad shouldered, muscled, tall and overwhelming. But he was a sweetheart. Always there to help, never arrogant, and outgoing. Apparently, Lazar tried to get him into bed since he joined the team over 6 years ago.

Kashel Rosso, human, 30 years old, partner to Pallas and weapons expert of the team. She had red, hip long curls, honey eyes and was fierce, in and out of bed. Not that Laurent had needed to know that. He really didn't want to know who his brother had already fucked, thank you very much. She had a wicked sense of humor, loved to argue with Lazar and never backed down from a challenge. 

Lykaios Castellanos, human, 29 years old, partner to Nikandros and crisis negotiation expert of the team. Her long, light brown hair, blue eyes, light complexion and pretty face gave her the appearance of a soft, timid woman. Nobody, who saw her on the street would guess that she worked as a defense agent for the THIRDS. That was one of the reasons she was most often chosen to do undercover work as well. Together with Nicaise, she had seen it all. 

Nikandros Karas, lion therian, 32 years old, partner to Lykaios and tactical expert of the team. He apparently knew everything about war and field tactics. He was organized, had always everything under control and never let something slip out of his grasp. Interestingly enough Auguste's only words towards his appearance were: "He's kind on the eye."

And then there was only Damianos Vallis left. Lion therian, 31 years old, partner to Laurent himself, team leader of Ambush Alpha. He was, quote, the epitome of a lion therian, tall, massive and impressive, built like a brick wall, quote end. Youngest team leader in all of Delfleur's THIRDS history. 

Auguste didn't dwell on Damen's, what was his pet name, looks. He just said: "As soon as he smiles, you know it's him. His smile is as if the sun rises." Auguste seemed to love Damen like a brother. He admitted, that he and Damen spent almost as much time together as he and Laurent. 

Laurent only smiled. He knew that he didn't have enough time with his brother before he started the training for the thirds. His former job didn't really let him get away often. He could only imagine what a dangerous team Auguste and Damen had to be for the hearts of all these single agents of Unit Alpha. 

Finally, the man in the front seemed to come to an end of his introduction speech. He wrapped up with explaining once more how they should attach their different patches to their uniform. Laurent, already perfectly dressed, almost rolled his eyes. 

Vannes snorted. "That looks painful, Leblanc. Sure you're not spraining something?"

Laurent threw her an unimpressed look. "Yes, I am perfectly fine."

"Rookies, follow me." In the front stood a therian, and Laurent knew him only too well. Theomedes Vallis was an impressive appearance. The lion therian and Lieutenant of Unit Alpha was no one you wanted to anger. 

Fortunately, Laurent was something like the golden boy of the good Lieutenant. His personal pet project. Because Laurent was a genius, and everybody knew it. Give him a computer and he could achieve almost everything.

"My name is Vallis. I am the Lieutenant of Unit Alpha and the boss of your bosses. I expect flawless jobs of you, you understand? Less than that and you endanger not only your own life but that of your team and of civilians, am I clear?"

Most of the rookies were so intimidated that they could only nod. Laurent almost laughed out loud. They walked behind Theomedes into a big room that looked like a lecture room for a university, only 100 times more high-tech and luxurious. Everything sparkled. Vannes jaw hit the floor.

"Wow. If they had told me that from the beginning, I would have foregone my time with the military."  
"They are known for forgetting the most important parts", Laurent agreed. She giggled and Theomedes explained to them that they would be introduced to the whole of unit Alpha, as they were the largest group of rookies they had in years. 

Patiently they waited while the agents filled the chairs. When Auguste entered, Laurent was in deep conversation with another rookie. His brother sat down in the second row, talking to a large therian in the front row, who was immediately swarmed by multiple other people. Most likely his team-members. Beside Auguste sat Jord, who had his eyes focused on his phone. 

Auguste saw Laurent, a bright grin on his lips, but he didn't wave, or sprint to the front to crush Laurent to his chest. Interesting. He did, however, point to the large therian in the front row and mouthed the word 'partner'. 

Immediately Laurent's gaze focused on the man. This had to be Damianos Vallis. Before he could get a good look at his face, Theomedes started speaking and Vannes elbowed Laurent. "Who of these guys is your brother?"

"Second row, right side of the room, directly by the aisle."   
Vannes had her eyes on him in a millisecond. "Wow. Your parents have to look like Hollywood stars." She grinned.

"Oh, shut up. You'll make me blush", Laurent replied deadpan. She bit her lip to keep from laughing. 

Later on, they were called onto the podium. Theomedes shook the hand of each rookie and Laurent was the last. Not really a surprise. He stepped up, his grip firm and sure. Theomedes looked at him with pride in his eyes.  
"You go out there and make me proud, son."

"I'll try my best, Sir." Laurent said seriously, his eyes searched for Damianos and he saw the face of his partner for the first time. A slow smile spread on his lips. 

Now he understood why Auguste never talked about Damianos or his appearance. Damianos Vallis was hot as hell.

**Author's Note:**

> Tell me what you think! If you like it, I have another chapter :) So, leave me a kudo or a comment to indicate if you'd like to read something more.


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